


Misstep

by Amonae



Series: Holiday Gifts 2016 [8]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky bringing his A-game, Explosions, Happy Ending, M/M, but first lots of panic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 20:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9515678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amonae/pseuds/Amonae
Summary: During a mission, Bucky takes a misstep and finds himself with his foot on a bomb. His first choice for help is Iron Man.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreabean](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreabean/gifts).



> For the fantastic[Dreabean](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreabean), who dealt with my frantic last-minute edits and freak-outs like a champ. I hope it’s okay that this is WinterIron, I’m not confident enough to give you another fandom. <3 Here's to a 2017 I don't want to throw off the nearest tall building!
> 
> Your prompt, if you've forgotten it, was “time.”
> 
> Thank you so, SO much to [dapperanachronism](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dapperanachronism) and [robin_tcj](https://archiveofourown.org/users/robin_tcj). Seriously, you guys are saving my ass on these.

“Iron Man, I need an assist. Office tower on fourth. I’m in the underground parking, level B3.”

Tony could count the number of times that the Winter Soldier had asked for his help on one hand, and at least two of those times had been because he’d crushed yet _another_ remote for the television. Needless to say, he was unprepared for the cool, flat tones that were echoing over the private channel on the comms. 

“On my way, Terminator. Hang tight.” He took a sharp corner around the cafe on ninth, the one that used to have the _best_ croissants and was now less than a smouldering hollow in the brick wall. 

“Right,” came the stilted reply and then silence. 

Tony knew better than to fill the line with chatter, knew there wouldn’t be a response, but he found himself overthinking the scenario en route.

“J, what are we dealing with here? Is he hurt?”

 

“No, sir.” JARVIS’ tinny voice echoed through the helmet. “And I do not believe Sergeant Barnes is engaged in battle at present. His heart rate is remarkably steady. He has been unmoved from his current position for the past two point three minutes.”

Tony frowned as he entered the dimly-lit building, boots hitting the pavement with a shudder. He flipped his audio back to the external speakers as he stepped toward the lone figure in the parking garage. “Okay, what seems to be problem? I was enjoying my time blasting those giant lizard things. Did you know they _explode_? Yeah, no losing tails as a defense mechanism for these things, that’s too easy.”

“Stark,” the Winter Soldier gritted out, his frame stiff but still, his eyes barely flicking their way to the Iron Man suit. “Watch where you’re walking. There’s trip-mines.”

“What?” Tony glanced to the ground where, sure enough, he could see the uneven mess of the concrete that had been ripped up and re-poured in a hurry, barely covering the heads of the mines. He counted twenty-three, no, twenty-four. Including the one currently beneath Barnes’ foot. “Oh shit.”

“That’s an understatement,” Bucky grumbled, his metal fingers twitching slowly. “Think you can deactivate this thing?”

Though there was no outward indication that Barnes was anything more than mildly annoyed, Tony could see it in the set of his shoulders, the grimacing twist of his lips—he was worried that this thing was going to go from bad to worse, real fast.

“Come on, you think I can’t defuse a little landmine?” Tony snorted, trying to let as much of his usual cocky nature drift into the inflection of his voice as he could in the suit. He pulled up the internal comms, making sure the speakers were off. “J? Run a scan on this setup, okay? Find a way to kill it without setting this whole place up.”

“Of course, sir.”

Tony moved closer, keeping an eye on where he set his boots next. While he was about 99% sure that the suit could withstand this kind of a blast, he didn’t want to put it to the test. Not to mention, the whole garage would come down on top of them if even one of the mines were set off. Not exactly the most pleasant way to end the day. “You know, most people just take off when they want to get out of the clean-up duties,” Tony quipped, earning himself a narrow-eyed look, though Barnes did little more than shift his gaze. “This is a little over-the-top, Barnes.”

“Shut up and get me out of here,” Bucky growled, his attention re-focusing on where his foot was hovering over the mine. 

“Sir?” JARVIS’s voice came through the helmet, soft enough to avoid the attention of super-soldier hearing. “I’m afraid there is a… complication.”

“Give it to me straight, J,” Tony said, stopping a few feet from Barnes and getting a raised brow for his sudden halt. 

“The mines seem to be activated individually by pressure, but are also following a pre-programmed algorithm for a secondary activation. On a timer, which I’m afraid Sergeant Barnes has set off.”

“Fuck,” Tony snarled, turning his attention to where Bucky was still immobile, the only movement in his frame the rise and fall of his chest. “How long?”

“Ninety-three seconds, sir.”

A small, glowing count-down began in the corner of Tony’s vision, the numbers moving fast, _too_ fast. It wasn’t enough time. They would need at least sixty seconds to figure out and deactivate the damn thing, and that’s if nothing went wrong. That only gave them thirty seconds and counting to get the hell out.

_Fuck._

Tony moved fast, kicking up the boosters to hover over the remaining mines between himself and Barnes, landing with slightly more force than necessary before letting the suit fall to one knee. “J, run me through this. What are we dealing with?” As he spoke, the gauntlets peeled back to allow him more dexterity, the faceplate flipping out of the way as he focused on the area around Barnes’ foot.

“There appears to be wiring connecting all explosive devices, though deactivating one also appears to disconnect the circuit.”

“Sloppy work. Perfect.”

“Stark?” There was the slightest tremor in Barnes’ tone, but when Tony looked up at him, there was a placid expression on his face.

“It’s fine, we just need to do this fast. It’s on a timer,” Tony answered the question that hadn’t been verbalized, his fingers deftly moving to follow the directions JARVIS was chattering in his ear.

“How long?”

Tony kept from answered, focused on his task and the mental countdown he was keeping. If he could defuse the pressure activation, they could get out of there before the timer went off. Depress the lever, cut that wire, re-attach it to the wrong sensor… 

“Tony, how long?” Bucky asked, his voice softer, quiet now.

For a second, he spared a glance up and gave Barnes a half-hearted smile. “I’m almost done here. Then we have about twenty three seconds to get out.”

“Go,” Bucky answered immediately, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “Get the fuck out of here. I’ll be fine,” he lied, the lines of his body rigid and tight. 

“The hell you will. You may think you’re invincible but you’re still human, Barnes.” Tony’s brows were furrowed as he focused on the job in front of him instead of the anger bubbling just beneath his chest.

“And so are you. Tony,” Bucky’s voice broke on the word, before he clamped his jaw shut. “Please. _Please_ get out of here. If something were to happen to you…”

“Done!” Tony shouted, standing as the gauntlets wrapped themselves back around his hands, the faceplate flipping down in a hurry. He didn’t have time to argue, to have this fight, to doubt his abilities. He grabbed Bucky around the waist and flew them both to the nearest exit, babbling over the comms. “Building on fourth is about to blow. Parking garage was rigged to explode. Winter Soldier and I are on our way out but make sure everyone is clear.”

“Roger that,” came Widow’s voice just as Tony felt the first shudder of an explosion behind him. 

He focused his energy on re-routing them through the concrete columns and up through the winding driveways. The first breach of light had him breathing a little easier, the rumble of the building echoing all around them. Tony was dimly aware of Bucky shouting something, metal arm holding tight around the suit. Then they were out, taking off through the sky and down six city blocks as the whole parking garage went up in a cloud of fire and dust. 

Tony’s heart was pounding as he set them down on a relatively-quiet street. The rest of the team had probably gathered elsewhere, handling the aftermath of an exploding building. _“At least,”_ Tony thought idly, _“this time it wasn’t_ technically _my fault.”_

He glanced to Bucky, hit with a sudden, alarming guilt at the expression directed his way. Bucky’s brows were drawn tight, eyes narrow as he stood in front of the armor, gripping the shoulders so tight the knuckles on his flesh hand were turning white. He was shouting, and the words finally filtered past the haze of adrenaline so Tony could hear them. 

“–the fuck were you thinking?! You could have been killed in there! Why didn’t you just fucking leave when I told you to, you stubborn son of a–”

“Woah, woah, calm down there RoboCop.” Tony raised his palms placatingly as the faceplate lifted to show his apologetic—and somewhat confused—expression. “I wasn’t about to leave you behind to get blown to smithereens.”

“You should have,” Bucky answered without hesitation, his right hand leaving Iron Man’s shoulder to press a gentle touch to Tony’s cheek. “Fuck, Tony… if you’d…”

“It’s okay,” Tony whispered softly, raising a gauntleted hand to cover Bucky’s. “It’s okay. I’m here. We’re both here. We’re fine.”

Bucky heaved a sigh and pressed his forehead against the chestplate of the suit. “Don’t _do_ that to me. Don’t scare me like that.”

Tony smiled softly, pressing a quick kiss to the crown of Bucky’s head. “I make no promises.”


End file.
